The Construction Innovation Hub last week published the first edition of their Product Platform Rulebook, and was devised to deliver a clear path to deploying a platform approach to modern methods of construction. It’s an open-access guide designed to support industry – clients, consultants, contractors, manufacturers and product suppliers – in building capability... READ MORE

The NSW Government announced last week their intention to reform building laws to include offsite constructed (pre-fabricated) and manufactured homes. According to Government sources, “Part of this overall consultation, we are proposing new building regulations for pre-fabricated and manufactured homes. This will provide better protection for homeowners and improve building quality.” The proposed... READ MORE

At the recent AAUS annual Advanced Air Mobility summit in Melbourne, Skyportz, a Melbourne-based start-up showcased its new modular-designed vertiport. Skyportz announced their first Australian partnership with Caribbean Park, a recently established business precinct outside of the Melbourne CBD. It’s anticipated the vertiport will serve Australia’s emerging electric air taxi industry from that... READ MORE

With the stated intention of being able to deliver a modular house anywhere in the world from a kit-of-parts, UK-based Modulous may well classify as a genuine building industry disruptor. They’re a modular builder, but they don’t own a factory. And, if their most recent round of funding to the tune of £10m... READ MORE

Based in Toronto, Canada, WZMH Architects and its research and development lab Sparkbird have teamed up with a Canadian consortium to create a prefabricated, modular, precast solution called Speedstac for mid- to highrise residential buildings. They can be used to construct new modular buildings up to 30 storeys tall, and interestingly, replace damaged... READ MORE

A New Zealand offsite construction company based in Lower Hutt called Flexi House took just 13 hours from piles-in-ground to a weathertight building in July this year. It's a one-bedroom, two-bathroom workers’ quarters with an open-plan kitchen and living area. The offsite construction of the panels in the factory took seven weeks and... READ MORE

Anne-Marie Friel, Partner (L) and Nigel Blundell, Partner (R), of Pinset Masons law firm write about MMC and the UK Government's approach. MMC is a general term used to describe a range of alternative off-site and on-site manufacturing techniques. The concept is at the heart of the September 2022 updates to ‘Construction Playbook’... READ MORE

Dr David Bylund, Director, TMBRCONSULT A fortunate meeting can occasionally result in big ideas and big outcomes, and Dr David Bylund, already established as one of Australia’s leading thinkers in novel mass timber-based architectural solutions, met with James Dibble, Managing Director of Ballarat-based Grange Development. Over the course of their meetings, a conversation... READ MORE

Global design company, Bryden Wood, announced last week the appointment of Melbourne-based Simon McCarthy as Principal Engineer. McCarthy already has an established presence in the MMC space, as he was the Principal Engineer with MMC specialist project management group, Sensum. (main image: Bryden Wood's kit-of-parts approach) McCarthy in collaboration with Sydney-based APAC lead,... READ MORE

Following five years of collaboration between New Zealand’s offsite construction sector and the NZ Government, the delivery of offsite-constructed housing is now a lot less complicated with the recent passing of new legislation that will streamline the inspection requirements for the sector. It’s called BuiltReady, and the strengthened CodeMark product certification will improve... READ MORE